Surprise!!!

I went home early from work yesterday and when I got home, I just wanted to lay down. I peeked my head downstairs to tell Garth that I was going upstairs and as I peeked, I also smelled something, something chemically and wonderful...PAINT!! My fatigue quickly wore off and I darted into the nursery and this is what I found more or less (I did do a little staging, but the WORK had been done):

This is the $3 rocker that Garth got for me at a garage sale. We still need to paint it. I was going to paint it white to match the rest of the furniture, but now I am thinking about kind of just white washing it to keep the "antiquey" feel of it...what do you think? The blanket is monogrammed gavin randall thomas ;)

Here is the crib set up with the bedding...I love it so much!!!!!!

Here is a wider shot of part of the room. In the pictures it looks like we need more stars, but I think it looks ok in person, I guess I will have to get some more opinions "in person". I am thinking about putting our chocolate brown floor length silk curtains over the windows...I will just have to see if the browns match.

This is the changing table set up with random stuff in it...I need to get some baskets and I have lots of the blue paint left so I can paint some baskets blue...or leave them brown, I guess I will try both and see what I like best...This time I haven't bought ANY newborn diapers since with Garth Lee I thought I was soooooo smart buying diapers before the baby was born and I bought lots of sizes, but I bought a box or 2 newborns that he NEVER fit into, so I have started with size 1's and I think I will go ahead and start buying 2's. I guess only time will tell, but I am pretty sure this baby will be at least 8.5 pounds, he feels like he is already about 6 or so...we have an ultrasound on the 11th of January that is supposed to give us a better idea of if he is actually a big baby, so less than a month and we will have at least some idea of if he will follow suit for the Thomas boys, which by the way Garth Lee has been the smallest at 8 lbs 14 oz, his 2 boy cousins were 9 lbs even and 9 lbs 2 oz...but Garth Lee was 2 weeks early ;)

Thank you so much to my husband and to his brother for helping!! It was a wonderful surprise.

Speaking of surprises, I failed my 1 hour glucose screening on Monday, so I get to do the 3 hour test this Monday, YAY--oh and my uterus decided to grow with the baby this time...I have been measuring 2 weeks "small" (I have to put that in quotes, because there really isn't much small about me, so it seems weird to be "small") pretty consistently and this time I was 2 weeks bigger than normal, which is still in normal range, but I feel better about 2 bigger...anywho, 2.5 months to go ;)

Spread The Word...

I have a blog that I like to read because of how inspiring I think this woman is. She lost her 14 month old daughter a little over a year ago in a tragic accident and she has used her blog to help her through the trials that have resulted from that experience. This past week and up until the 12th, she has an auction going on her blog to benefit another family that has gone through an equally tragic experience. The link to her blog for the auction items is HERE, and the link to the story behind the auction is HERE, auction "rules" are HERE. I know not many people read my blog, but maybe it could make a little bit of difference...Merry Christmas everyone!

You Are What You Eat...

A List Challenge...kind of fun, quoted from my friend Karen Snow's blog:

"The 'Omnivore's Hundred' was posted on Andrew Wheeler's blog Very Good Taste. The post has become really popular around the food blogging world. I thought I'd take my chances and see how adventurous (or not) I have been. I always thought that I had eaten some strange things, but I've never heard of some of the things on this list! I'm curious about everyone else as well, please do it. Here are the instructions: Copy this list into your blog, including these instructions. Bold all the items you’ve eaten. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating"--I'll put them in red since I don't know how to cross them out in a post.

I will add that I will put the one's in green that I had to look up and I put my simplistic definition in (grey)...Is it sad that I had to look up more than I had eaten?

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (blood sausage)--after looking up, this is also a not going to try it either
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht (beet soup)
10. Baba ghanoush (eggplant)
11. Calamari
12. Pho (Vietnamese beef and noodle soup)
13. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (cauliflower and potatoes)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (pungent unpasteurized cow's milk cheese, so pungent it has been banned from public transport systems in France)
17. Black truffle--I really would like to try these
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns--sounds yummy
20. Pistachio ice cream--actually my favorite flavor
21. Heirloom tomatoes---really want to try these
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras--not something I aspire to try, but I would
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (dip made with garlic, anchovies, olive oil, butter and sometimes cream)
31. Wasabi peas--and I spit them right out
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (salted buttermilk, sort of)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a big fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (puffer fish--lethally poisonous if not prepared correctly, so I will also mark this one off the list as well)
47. Chicken tikka masala (curry roast chicken)
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (pickled fruit kind of like an apricot)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer (Asian cheese)
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle (german egg noodle or dumpling)
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (French fries topped with cheese curd and brown gravy--a fast food staple in Canada)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads--kinda like foie gras, I would eat, but not excitedly
63. Kaolin (clay???)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (asian fruit with strong "offensive" odor)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (Russian pancake--I think I knew this already)
73. Louche absinthe (absinthe with water added--also added to the won't try list)
74. Gjetost or brunost (Norwegian brown cheese)
75. Roadkill--eat it at Roadhouse, but it is just the name of a hamburger steak
76. Baijiu (Chinese white liquor--red for me)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong (Black tea)
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum (Thai fish soup)
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (Chocolate covered pretzel)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse--does eating dogfood when you are a kid count?
90. Criollo chocolate (a "brand" of cacao bean)
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (spice blend)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor (cheesy lobster stuffing)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Well, that was if nothing else informative...now your turn.

Thanksgiving Pictures

We had a very fun family Thanksgiving. We went to my parents' house and we were joined by my 2 aunts and uncles, my cousins Kenny and Sara, the Clements and of course Granny. It was really very nice and the food was good. My dad fried a turkey and it was REALLY good and moist, we cooked the first ham from Horton II and it turned out OK. I think I overcook ham because I am worried that it isn't actually cooked so it gets dry. I guess I have 3 more chances with this piggy to perfect it, so maybe the Easter ham will be better, it wasn't bad though. The kids had a blast and we ate A LOT, so I would say it was certainly a success. Hope you all also had Happy Turkey Days!

Mom and Sara...thanks Sara for the pictures, I was still waiting on the camera to come in the mail, so these are her pictures...hope they aren't copyrighted or at least I hope I have given her sufficient credit (she makes me nervous...she's a lawyer ;))

Garth Lee and Brooke Clement having fun with the whipped cream.

Papa Randy and I comparing "baby" bellies. I feel like I must also say that my belly contained twins at the time...Baby Gavin AND my Thanksgiving dinner belly...I'm really not that big yet (I don't think).

Baby "Mo", just too cute for words.

Gavin Says Hi!

So here is another blurry phone camera picture of a picture, but I still think it is pretty easy to see what it is. (BTW, Garth ordered me a camera today so it should be here in the next couple of weeks). When we got the ultrasound the tech that was doing it kept apologizing that we didn't get better pictures, but he is frank breech meaning he is completely folded in half with both his legs/feet in front of his face so we didn't get too many good shots of his face, but here we got a pretty good profile and his little hand is waving at us. We don't go back for another ultrasound until January 11th, but the good news is that one should really tell us the size of this guy, if he is on the bigger side. He is measuring a week or 2 big already on the ultrasounds, but I am actually measuring a week or 2 behind in uterus size (they don't really start to worry unless you are measuring 4 weeks big or small though since the measurement of the uterus is pretty subjective with a tape measure), so I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens with that, but nothing to be worried about at this point. My next appointment with the doctor is in December and I don't expect anything major at that one, probably will start going every 2 weeks after that since I will be in my 3rd trimester...sometimes it feels like this has lasted forever I guess because we have tried for so long, but times like right now make me feel like it is going sooooo fast. I am excited though to meet Gavin and to introduce him to the most awesome big brother and Daddy a little boy could ever have. Hopefully I will get the nursery going this week off so I will post pictures when we are done and when my camera comes in.

Reality...And My 100th Post

I can tell that Garth Lee is starting to worry about how his life is going to change when Gavin comes. We talk about it some, but not in too big a way that would make him stress about it, so I don't really know where he is getting it, but the fact is, he is a very observant and astute child and he may just be realizing it on his own. Last night he started crying in bed because he is going to "miss" me when baby Gavin "comes out". He was comforted when I told him that nothing was going to change about how much we love him, that we are just going to add more love to our family when he comes and that we are going to try very hard to keep our routines in place and add Gavin to them instead of letting him dictate new ones (ok, ok, you can stop laughing now...seriously).

He is oddly very happy to point out that baby Gavin's room is in the "down-down" stairs and his is next to us. He was really upset when I told him that Gavin would be in Mommy and Daddy's room for a while before we banished him to the "down-down" stairs nursery. I told him that he would still be allowed to get into our bed when he wakes up in the morning and that baby Gavin would be in a little crib beside our bed. He cheered up and told me he was so happy that I told him all of that because he was very worried and now he feels better. Although he is very excited about having a little brother, I think in his little mind he thinks he is going to be somehow completely sacrificed for the baby.

I am not delusional (usually) and I do realize that our world is about to change in a big way, but I do want to do my best to make sure that my first son never feels like he is playing second fiddle to his sibling(s) and vice versa.

The last thing he said before finally going to sleep was "Mommy, I think after this one 'we' are done".

Drumroll Please..............

Well I think we have come up with a name compromise, and by compromise, I mean Garth Lee picked the whole thing, which I think is fair :) So i am 99.9% sure that Garth Lee's baby brother's name is going to be Gavin Randall Thomas...almost sure enough to order the monogrammed stuff. Maybe he will have a future as a Corn Flakes spokesman since the only hesitation I have for this name is that the initials are GRT...

I am so happy he is so active inside of me, I worry so much about him all the time just like I did with Garth Lee and I do know that the worry never stops but at least I can see Garth Lee now and kiss and hold him. I can truly say now that over the last week or so it has hit me that I am going to be a mommy again and that this is for real. I am so excited to meet this guy. I secretly am hoping that he will look like my hubby since Garth Lee pretty much is a male clone of me, a "boy Brooke" if you will (not that it's a bad thing necessarily, he fortunately models after his daddy in behavior and disposition), maybe Gavin will look more like his daddy...either way, I'm really looking forward to what is ahead for us and I know it will be grrrrrrrrrreat!

Deep Thoughts...

"Mommy...you know...toots can carry different things"

...pause...

"Yes, I guess they can"

...pause...

"Yeah, like air...and sometimes poop"

"Uh huh"

...longer pause...

"Mommy, when we get home, I'm think I'm going to have to change my underwear"

And we are still ready, willing and excited to do this again...we must be nuts ;)

The "G" is Silent...

Our name game is ongoing... and it doesn't seem like anyone is budging. 2 nights ago I was trying to ease Garth Lee into the naming of his little brother Jackson since it seems like that is the consensus. I said "Don't you think it would be cute to have a little brother and we name him Jackson and we call him Jax?" Garth Lee said "Nope, don't you think it would be cute to name him Gavin and we could call him Gav?"...touche...This morning, Garth Lee woke up and told me that we could name the baby Jackson, which really surprised me until his next comment came. He said "We can name him Jackson, but we will call him Gavin."

Name Game

As most of you know, this is the first child we are getting to name since Garth Lee was a non-choice being the fourth generation Garth (although I love it). It is a lot harder than I thought to pick out a name that will be this child's his whole life--no pressure though.

We really like family names (obviously) and we want to use them at least for a part of the name. Garth's side got the first kid, so this time I would like to name our son after my side (and Garth agrees). Luckily my dad's name is James Randall, both names that are definitely usable. Garth Lee is learning to read and so he is really recognizing not only all the words that start with a "g"--which he started noticing when he started to recognize his ABC's, he is also loving all words with a "g" in them...and therefore are all his "favorite" words. We have debated having a "g" theme with our kids names since I don't plan on having a Duggar style family, I feel like we can do this without eventually having to have a Gwynward (sorry if someone likes that name). Of course Garth Lee loves this idea, but he doesn't love so much the "g" names I have come up with...except one: Gavin, which Garth and I both LOVE, but Garth has a cousin and a cousin's child that are both named Gavin...but I can also make the argument that there are like 10 Davids on both sides too...so it doesn't necessarily rule it out, plus I've seen his cousin Gavin maybe 3 times in the 10 years we have been together and I have never even met the cousin who named her child Gavin and most likely never will. Before we decided to go with Gavin (which we really like with James), we decided on Jackson Randall for the boy name and call him Jax for short but Garth Lee didn't like it because he has a Jackson in his class that he doesn't care for too much, but we decided that was it anyways...until we found out it was a boy and Garth Lee decided the name was going to be Gavin and it sounded and felt right to all of us.

Anyways...I know there are lots of people who don't like sharing the baby names before they are born, which I understand, but I don't really care and at least if someone steals it and I have already made it public that I picked it, then there is no debate on who had it first ;)...I have documented proof.

I thought the decision was made, but last night when Garth and I were making the trek back to the car after the Tech game he said that he really still likes Jackson Randall, but he still likes Gavin James too. I'm all supportive of those that say "after we see him/her we will just know", but that doesn't help me when I really want to monogram stuff...(see below)

This is the bedding that I LOVE and think I might get--thanks Amanda for the very $$$ idea ;)

So, I guess we have narrowed it down to either Gavin James or Jackson Randall (Jax). Let me know what you think.

It's a BOY!

Well, we went to the maternal-fetal specialist today to do the anatomy scan of the baby and it's anatomy included boy parts. I am thrilled. I think with the 5.5 year gap between kids, this will connect them, plus I think I just really wanted another boy (I don't know if I can handle a girl yet). We waited for FOREVER in the ultrasound office, apparently 2 of their sonographers were out sick, so Mom had to get back to work, but I promised we would tell her first. Garth Lee got out of school at noon, so I picked him up and told him before we told anyone else and he was VERY excited, he told me he "always wanted a little brother", then we went to Mimi's work and told her first. I am so happy that he will have a little brother. It's kind of funny to me, everyone's reactions seem mixed. I think when you have one sex, people automatically hope for the other sex, but I honestly really wanted a little brother for Garth Lee, so I am excited. Garth Lee has already given him a name, so we will see if it sticks or if he wears it our before the baby comes. I think we might be in for another big one (Garth Lee was 8lbs 14oz and he was 2 weeks early), all of the measurements were about a week to 2 weeks ahead. We will go in another 4 weeks and we will get a better idea of the size. Today he weighed a whopping 10 ounces. We are so blessed and we are praying that the pregnancy continues to be uneventful and that our little boy keeps growing healthily.

Long Time, No Post...

Well, it sure has been a while and I can't keep giving my procrastinating blogger friends a hard time if I am also an offender. Not too much blogworthy stuff has happened, but this is our life the last few weeks nonetheless:

• Garth Lee has had his first 2 soccer games for the fall season and I must say, they are all MUCH better. There are a couple of newer kids that will take some time to get up to the level the other kids are at, but it was actually pretty fun to watch them play. Garth Lee is a very good hustler, he will chase the kid that breaks away to score and almost always overtakes them and gets between him and the goal, we just need to work on him being more aggressive. Daddy (who is also assistant coaching this season) keeps telling him "no more Mr. Nice Guy" and I see Garth Lee out there banging his fist and mouthing it to other kids...
• I found me a great OB that I really like a lot. I think we will be a good fit, he was horrified at my labor and delivery experience with Garth Lee (as was I) and he assures me that this time will be much better, so here's hoping...I'm not quite to the point where I have realized I am actually going to have to give birth to this baby, so it will probably hit me soon. I remember with Garth Lee actually panicking when I realized that this thing in me was going to have to find a way out, that there was no turning back...I guess I might stay optimistic this time and just believe my doctor that everything will go better this time...only time will tell. We should find out the sex of the baby October 16th...if baby cooperates.
• My future part-time counterpart at work, Amanda, started this week and I couldn't be happier about it, she should be GTG in the next month or so, then towards the first of the year, I will be cutting WAAAAAY back on hours, so I am obviously looking forward to that.
• My friend had a 9lb, 9oz baby boy at 3:51 (3+5+1=9) on 9/09/09. Mom and baby are doing well. The named him Enin...just kidding.
• My 10 year high school reunion is next weekend...yep, I'm officially old now. At least I have a good reason to look fat...

Hopefully I'll be a better blogger ;)

School lunches, you know you miss them...

Well, today's choices for Garth Lee's cafeteria lunch were either chicken fried steak or "Mexican" baked potato. So...unless making a baked potato "Mexican" turns it into a hot dog and french fries, there really was no point in having him eat the cafeteria lunch today, it would simply be a buck fifty thrown in the trash can. So we got some lunchables and Daddy got Garth Lee an insulated lunch bag to take to school. I packed him the lunchable, a gogurt and a banana and the report after school today was "that was a spectacular lunch, the best". Spectacular and stunning have been his adjectives of choice lately and it is pretty funny (he watched Pinocchio for the first time and told me it was a "stunning" movie), anyways, Garth takes him into the house after school and he headed straight to the fridge and started packing his lunch for tomorrow. He was disappointed to learn that he has to eat in the cafeteria tomorrow, but luckily, his choices for Thursday are chicken fried rice or broccoli and cheese baked potato, so another stupendous sack lunch it is.

Thoughts/Gummy Bear Update

Here we go back to music again, but I have been listening to this older Sugarland CD and I have really been enjoying it for a lot of different song reasons, but one in particular has really touched me lately. It is called "Happy Ending", there is one verse that points out that people come from all walks of life and we all have dreams even as young children. It reminds me that it is very important to not push aside the dreams of children (or anyone else) for any reason. We know the odds of becoming the next world-changing leader or even professional sports players are low, but you know what...those were all little kids that grew up with a dream too and they followed it and saw it come to fruition. The song goes:

Cowboys ride into sunsets
The good guy always gets the girl
Cinderella has just fit
A glass slipper that changed her world

We all know the story
We all know the fairy tales
We all get the glory
Of making it for ourselves

From the beginning
We're all looking for a happy ending
Every dream of winning every love we've been in
Right from the beginning, we're looking for a happy ending

We've come here with nothing
And take it with us the day we leave
The first and last breath don't matter
It's all the ones that are in between

It's the reason for living
It's the reason the caged bird sings
It's why we see it in the movies
All the way to the closing scenes

From the beginning
We're all looking for a happy ending
Every dream of winning, every love we've been in
Right from the beginning, we're looking for a happy ending

And for all those dreamers who have come and gone
Who have reached for the stars, who have overcome
You're the hope, you're the wish, you're the truth
Baby, here's the proof:

Baby's born in a ghetto (background "I have a dream speech" spoken by MLK)
Baby's born with a silver spoon (background recording of the first lunar landing)
One tells his mama, "I have a dream"
One tells his mama, "I walk the moon"

I guess I am thinking about this more moving further into this pregnancy. It actually makes me think more about Garth Lee, not really daydreaming about the baby, but all of the possibilities that lay in front of our children if we work hard to help them instead of standing in their way or building obstacles or boundaries that don't really exist.

We had our "big" ultrasound today, our last with the fertility doctor and I have been released to the OB/GYN. I don't see him for another few weeks, but my RE said if I needed anything in the mean time that I could still call them. It was possible (although unlikely) that we could have found out the sex at the ultrasound today, but the umbilical cord was hanging right in between the legs, so no luck, but to be honest I wasn't expecting to find anything out today anyways. It was just pretty great to see the little "guy" jumping around in there and moving all around, it was pretty amazing and touching. The HB was right at about 170, so according to old wives tales, over 140 means girl, but the RE said she has almost never seen a HB under 140 unless it was right at about 6 or 7 weeks, so there ya go. So now we probably won't find out the sex until October...oh well a year ago, or even six months ago I would have given ANYTHING to be bummed that I have to wait a short month or 2 to find out the sex of our baby. We are so blessed in so many ways. They recorded the ultrasound on video (VHS) and if we can find out a way (I've been told it is possible), hopefully we can put it on something else so I can post it here--but that would require quite a bit of technological know-how and a lot of unkowns, so only time will tell if that actually happens ;)

So I added a fuzzy cellphone camera picture I took of one of the ultrasound pictures. In all honesty, that is probably the closest thing we will get to the video on the blog ;)

First Day of School

Thank goodness for cellphone cameras...notice the sleepy eyes in the first picture. I think that is what we are going to have to work on the most (besides eating cafeteria lunches) is the whole getting up in the morning. Up until this point I have felt blessed with a child that sleeps in, which subsequently allows mommy and daddy to sleep in which is nice...until you HAVE to get up for something, then not so nice when all you want to do is curl up back in bed and that is all he is doing too. I can't complain too much, once he is actually out of the bed he does pretty well, it is just getting him out of the bed that is the hard part.

Garth Lee is going to Honey Elementary. His Kindergarten teacher is Mrs. Scoggin and he really seems to like her a lot. Garth and I both got a bit choked up at the open house when we saw his little name on his locker and saw his classroom, but I was OK the first day of school. My mom and I walked over to pick him up after school the first day and I did tear up a little watching him walk out with his class and his teacher. He is having such a fun time and it is fun to see that. Everyday I get a report on the "slimy" peaches or "gross" french fries (sweet potato fries) that he has tried, but at least he is trying it, I guess. I wanted to just pack his lunches but Daddy overruled me since he feels like he really needs to learn to eat other things, even though I am sure all he is having is a milk (most likely chocolate) and maybe a bite or 2 of the main course and possibly a bite of dessert. I guess he needs to learn sometime and now is as good a time as any.

Anyways, Garth Lee is loving school and we are loving it too!

Our Little Gummy Bear

Well, we got an improptu ultrasound today because of my progesterone levels (everything was fine). Garth had to work last night and doesn't get off until 8am and the nurse wanted me to come in at 7:50 so I had to take Garth Lee with me to the doctor's office. He woke up pretty well because he was excited to see the baby in the "microscope" and we went to the doctor's office. He got to see the little baby, it was really cute, as soon as he could see my uterus on the screen, he was like "I see it" and when he saw the actual baby he said "Awww, it's so cute". I asked him if he thought it looked like a girl or a boy and he didn't say it looked like either, but I feel like it is a boy more after today's ultrasound. I'm not sure why I feel that way, I think maybe just because I remember seeing Garth Lee in an ultrasound when he was that size and so maybe I correlate it with him having been a boy...I guess only time will tell. The only thing that Garth Lee remembered from the visit and what he is telling everyone is that "There is no blood around the baby". He is right, the nurse did say that, but it is kind of gross that is what he is sharing with everyone. "He" still looks like a little gummy bear (I mean, he is still only the size of a small strawberry), but he was moving all over the place and shaking his head from side to side. The placenta is looking like it has taken over production of hormones and we could see the amniotic sac was fully formed around the baby. We have another ultrasound in 2 weeks and then we are released to a "regular" OB/GYN, so then I probably won't have another ultrasound for another 2 months, so I am enjoying it while I can. I'm glad Garth Lee got to see his little brother/sister and I am also glad there was "no blood around the baby".

Mom Of The Year

You know you're not going to win any parenting contests when...

1. A random commercial flashes on TV and your child starts singing "Nationwide is on your side" 20 or so seconds before the actual commercial sings it. (Too much TV time anyone?)

2. You ask your child to walk 20 steps to the fridge to get you a cold soda and he looks you straight in the eyes and says "Mommy, I really feel like you are taking advantage of me"--maybe not so horrible if your child is 12 or 16, but mine just turned 5 today and told me this last week.

3. You drop your credit card in a fishy smelling mall fountain and you actually try to use your kid as a fishing pole to get it out.

Come on, you know you have some too...share!

Name Them One By One...

Garth Lee's surgery went very well. I was upset a little because the anesthesiologist did not premedicate him before taking him back (an anesthesiologist friend told me that they really just need to give the versed to the parents--I certainly would have taken it). It was very sad when he was taken back away from us as he reached out for me and cried, I could barely hold myself together. The surgery took about an hour and a half (much longer than we thought it was supposed to take). When Dr. Britton came in to talk to us, he let us know that this "little" hernia was no such thing, that is was quite a complex case for him. This defect had been there since birth and it has been exposed to increasingly daredevelish acts by my well mannered although at times a little on the hyper side wonderful son. Anyway it was quite a hard repair, but he should do just fine. He woke up well and he wanted to pee more than anything because that is what everyone had told him that once he pees he can go home so that was the first thing he did was disconnect himself from everything that should be connected so that he could pee...and pee he did and almost just walked out the door when our sweet nurse caught us and told him that we would have to lay down for at least and hour and a half before we could go so we showed him on the big clock what to look for to tell him when it was time for us to go. He was very calm and quickly began the hamming up of the injury, but honestly as his mom, I thoroughly enjoyed holding my baby and my baby wanting to be with me. That's the best part. Now, less than a week later the little toot is all over the place. He is a trooper, I know that he really hated his medicine and took it anyways. He's a good and healthy boy and we are so glad that he came out of this even better than before. Thanks to everyone at the Women's and Children's hospital for being so kind and helpful. We had genuinely wonderful people taking care of us. We were quite impressed.

My Best Friend

My little family has been going through quite a lot lately, the least of which is my purse being stolen. We have also had some pretty wonderful things going on as well, unfortunately they have been overshadowed by the bad things, but you live life and move on...ANYWAYS, in any sort of turmoil you are forced to look at and scrutinize those relationships affected. Through the last while, I have realized that more than anything in this world I love my son, pretty much anyone else can come into or duck out of my life and I know that life will proceed with or without them. Not that I didn't realize that before, but I realize it now more than ever. I am learning that no matter how deeply you let things affect you, you have to do everything you can not to let other people's problems creep into your life and affect your own relationships because that gives someone else control over your life which is never a good thing.
(stepping down from soapbox)
Last night while I was laying in bed with Garth Lee (after I had asked him several times to be quiet and go to sleep), he said "Mommy, you know what I wish I was?", I said "What?", he said "A contact for you." I kind of chuckled and asked him why he would want to be my contact. He said "So you could wear me and I would always be close to you." I thought that was just about the cutest thing I had ever heard and oddly profound because without realizing it he knows that I don't see anything clearly without him to provide me the prospective I require. He is such a sweetheart and he is my life, EVERYTHING else is just small (blurry) potatoes.

No More Pictures

Well, no pictures from the trip. My purse was stolen from my car last night and among everything else monetarily valuable to me (credit cards, gift cards, and some cash), my camera was in there and was also stolen. I had started carrying it around so that I could catch some more "Kodak" moments. I also had taken pictures of the Cub Scouts bowling Wednesday night and we were going to do some stuff with the pictures in Cubs. I'm sure (hoping) it was just some punk kids, hopefully not some druggie since my State Board of Pharmacy license, my work badge and my business cards were in there, so they not only know I have access to drugs but they know my exact location and my schedule. Of course we have cancelled all of our credit cards and there haven't been any fraudulent charges. I only had about 15 bucks cash in there and that just gets me more than anything--These kids didn't even gain anything out of this, except maybe a camera with pictures from the Grand Canyon and of lots of little kids having a good time, they just wanted to break into someones car and steal something. There was a $50 bill in the console right beside the purse that was still there. Seriously, who does that kind of thing. I'm still really upset about it and I am usually a private person in a lot of ways and I feel really violated. It was also the Mickey Mouse purse I got at Disney World (I know it sounds really "classy" but it really was a cute little bag) so that really bums me out too. Also, something that might be good to know, the divisions of the police department that investigates burglary and identification in this town are not open on the weekends. I guess during regular business hours you are good, but after that you are on your own.

Surgery Tuesday

Well, somehow, this time being right holds absolutely no satisfaction. Last time I at least had a couple of weeks to mentally prepare, but not this time. Garth Lee's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday morning. Garth said the doctor was really very nice and personable which always helps. I know that Garth Lee is going to be very unhappy when he realizes what is happening, but luckily kids are resilient creatures. Last time he was running around the house about 6 hours later, hopefully things will go just as smoothly this time. I'll keep everyone posted.

It's Back :(

Last night, Garth Lee's hernia was much bigger (these pictures are from the first time we went to the doctor--the last one is after pushing it back in) and we were not able to completely reduce the hernia (which is not a good thing). At least this time, they just sent us to the surgeon instead of having us come in. We have an appointment with the urologist in the morning, so I guess we will know more after that. I hate to say "I told you so"...oh wait, no I don't--"I TOLD YOU SO!!!!"

P.S. Those are my fingers in the pictures, I was trying to make sure I didn't inadvertently produce some sort of prosecutable photographs, but they ended up still looking questionable...

Public

Sorry for the whole "going private" scare. I have found it to be way more of a hassle than I thought, so here we are back naked for the world to see. I just have a really hard time believing the world is really that interested when I only have a few friends who are remotely interested, kwim? Anyways, I actually have lots of stuff to blog about, but I want to get my pictures downloaded first. Please bear with me, hopefully I will get them on here tonight and blog about them tomorrow. I know you will be waiting anxiously...mom :)

Well, I guess I could go ahead and post this picture:

If you have never tried REALLY hard to get pregnant, you may not even really be able to see these lines very well, but if you have tried REALLY hard, then these lines are VERY obvious to you. I stopped taking pictures of them when they were darker, but we have already had 2 ultrasounds and have seen the heartbeat (one of the few advantages of being fertilly challenged), so it is actually for real and hopefully this little one will stick. We are of course very excited and are looking forward to our March baby.

P.S. Yep, you are totally looking at a picture of something I've peed on...that is so gross!

I'm Pretty Sure It's ESPN...

Or ESP, or maybe even PMS, but I had a dream last night. I dreamt that I got online and checked the Texas State Board of Pharmacy website and I saw my husband on there, with a license number, a for real pharmacist. I got up this morning and got to work, checked the website and what did I see...you can probably guess (or already got a call this morning at 8 am) that he WAS there, he IS licenced FOR REAL!!!!!! Can't you hear the HUGE sigh of relief (and the jumping up and down) coming from our house?!?!?!?! Garth is officially official. He has a license number and everything. He called CVS and they already want him to come in to cover for them, surprise, surprise. YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! The last 6 years of our lives has been consumed with pharmacy school, and that isn't even counting the 4 years of undergrad before that. Wow, 10 years, I can't believe it's over (or just really starting). As Sarah said, we are "like" real grown ups now.

I would just like to add that I would not trade these years we spent in school, together, struggling with a young family, for ANYTHING. We have learned so much about one another and we have learned to lean on each other and count on each other. Thanks for all the support and encouragement from everyone.

ROTFL

I just added a new blog to my blog list that is too funny for words. I actually saw it because one of the other blogs I frequent is in some contest for the funniest blog and I clicked on this one because it was FAR in the lead, and after reading it, that distinction is well deserved. The blog is called cake wrecks and it has actual professionally (sometimes that term is used loosly) decorated cakes that somehow have gone wrong. The cakes themselves are really funny, but her captions are HILARIOUS! Here are some of my favs.

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/07/and-so-fourth.html
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/07/taking-liberties.html
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/06/tassel-hassles.html (I esp like the Yoda cake description)

More to come, it's time for me to go home now.

Over Halfway There!!!!!

My husband (and I) got some excellent news in the mail today. He got his letter from the Texas State Board of Pharmacy that he passed his law exam! The law exam is BY FAR more difficult than the NAPLEX so...knock on wood...we are so close to being in the clear. We so needed some good news this week and we are very excited. Thanks to everyone who has supported us through this looooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg journey. We are almost finished, I can hardly believe it. I am so proud of him (but secretly glad that he scored one point lower than I did on the law exam, heh heh). I truly hope he blows my NAPLEX score out of the water!

I'm a Liar

So I went private already. I put all the contacts I think I had on here, but if there is anyone I forgot, it was not intentional, and now that I am private, email me at brooketpharmd@hotmail.com if you overhear someone really upset about not being able to read my blog ;) Liza, I need your mom's email, cause I think she actually reads my blog and it makes me feel special. Have a good 4th!!!

Music

I love music! If there is one thing that I have always wished I could do it is to sing. Not just to sing, but to sing well (and trust me, that wish has not been granted--just ask Garth Lee who is always screaming at me in the car to stop singing). A few months ago, I went to "Time Out For Women" in San Antonio with my sister-in-law and a few of mostly her friends (who quickly and truly became mine as well) and the most impressive part of the whole weekend was the music and I didn't even know there would be music I just went for the company mostly. Honestly, I had never heard of Hilary Weeks before that weekend, but I have never been as impressed as I was to hear her voice and to feel the spirit flooded you as you listened to her songs. Her CD's are great (and of course I bought several of them), but they do not do her actual voice justice. Anyways, I have been listening to one of her CD's lately and a favorite has emerged, it's called "He'll Carry You". I am so blessed in my life that I really don't think of myself when I hear these words. I know there have been and will be times that this song is for my own uplifting, but lately I have thought of others when I heard these words. I hope that those people can be comforted and know that they are never alone. Here are the words:

He knows your heart

He knows your pain

He knows the strength it took just to simply breathe today

He sees the tears that you cry

He knows your soul is aching to know why

He hears your prayers each humble word

When you said you couldn’t face another day he understood

He knows the path that you will find

Though you felt alone he’s never left your side

He knew there’d be moments when no earthly words could take away your sorrow

And no human eyes could see what you’re going through

When you’ve taken your last step and done all that you can do

He will lift your heavy load and carry you

He’ll bring you peace and leave you hope

And in the darkest night he’ll comfort you

Until you know the sun will rise and each new day

You will have the strength to live again

And when there are moments when no earthly words can take away your sorrow

And no human eyes could see what you’re going through

When you’ve taken your last step and done all that you can do

He will lift your heavy load and carry you

He hears you when you’re crying in the night

He hears you when your soul longs to find

Till the morning will come

And the light of the dawn reassures

That in the moments when no earthly words can take away your sorrow

And no human eyes could see what you’re going through

When you’ve taken your last step and done all that you can do

He will lift your heavy load and carry you

As a little bit of a funny...There was a little introduction period in the middle where all of the presenters and performers formally introduced themselves and Hilary sang a little song that described her favorite things, to the tune of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. I can't find the lyrics, but I think I have a link to the actual song, but I will have to do it from home and I *hope* to load it tonight. It is sooooo worth the wait.

Going Private

It kind of stinks, and no I haven't had any weird stalkers or anything, I just think I would feel more comfortable posting whatever I wanted to. I am so glad that I have had people stumble upon me and I hope that I get everyone's comments so that you can all get on. Please comment to this post if you would like to be added to 'the list'. I think I will do it in the next couple of weeks so I can give the laggers time to respond (you know who you are).

For a laugh, go to this post on The Meanest Mom (her posts are usually cute, but this one made me laugh out loud): http://themeanestmom.blogspot.com/2009/07/bike-raffle.html

Her blog says to make sure and don't take anything from her site without proper attribution, so I hope I have done enough and I don't get in trouble since I don't remember my APA reference formatting, especially not for blogs. This lady is so honest and FUNNY!!!!

A Couple More

This morning, Garth and I substitute taught Garth Lee's 5 year old Sunday School class. The lesson was over repentance and the Atonement. We talked about being sorry if we do something wrong and making it right. I asked the class "Why did Jesus Christ die for us?" My own son answered very seriously and reverently "So we could have Easter."

The following is a joke Garth Lee made up all on his own:
What do you call cheese that is rotten? Stinky!

Little Things

Nothing too blog worthy to post lately, but there have been a few little things going on, just for update's sake.

• Garth Lee has another hernia, on the other side from his surgical repair when he was 18 months old. We took him to the doctor Monday and he couldn't feel it, so he sent us to get an ultrasound and they didn't find anything, so everyone thinks I don't know what I am seeing. They actually said it could have been just a really big bowel movement making it's way down that I may have felt or seen. So I took pictures (non-kiddie porn style) and I am trying to decide if I feel like I need to take him in again and bring the pictures to *prove* he has the hernia or just wait and see what happens, hope it doesn't strangulate...but I REALLY don't want to do surgery again, anyways, I will post the pictures when I download them and you can judge for yourselves--it doesn't take a rocket surgeon
• We had to separate Princess and Spike (we are nicknaming them Jon and Kate for the time being). They are apparently fighting and can't sleep in the same crate anymore, so now they get 2 crates. Garth asked me why Princess got the old crate from the garage since we have had her for 6 years and Spike only for 1, I told him it was because I like Jon better...
• Garth has started working nights at CVS and he really likes it. Garth Lee and I really like it too because we get to stay up late in the "big" bed and watch movies and eat popcorn and we don't have Daddy giving us "the look"--we have to enjoy it now because school starts August 24th...wow I can't believe how big he is getting. Last night we fell asleep watching "Bee Movie" and Garth Lee was eating a ring pop (don't tell his dentist), he woke up at about 4am with the ring pop stuck to his shirt freaking out screaming "Bees! Bees!" I ripped the ring pop from his shirt and told him it was his candy, not a huge killer bee stuck to his jammies, and he curled back up next to me and went back to sleep. (Wow, I just realized what a bad mom this post makes me look like)
• We found out a few weeks ago that we are getting a new niece. I didn't want to post about it before because I didn't want to be the one breaking the news, but it has been a while now, I am pretty sure that anyone who cares already knows. Spencer and Jenny are having another little girl, due mid-October and her name will be Caroline Ann(e)--I'm not positive on the spelling, but it's cute either way.
• I am working the next 3 weeks straight, my regular week, then a week of nights at Women's and Children's, then my next regular week here. My next day off is July 8th and I have told CVS that I am available that next week. YAY! (Did I mention I can't wait for Garth to pass his boards?)
• We still don't know when Garth will be able to take the boards, but we will most likely know by Monday--so hopefully in a month or so we will be having a party celebrating his licensure!!!!!!

Disney Trip 2009

The early morning ride to the airport was too exciting for words.

Garth Lee's first airplane ride. Ms. K, the music teacher from his preschool, made him a CD with several of his favorite songs on it and he thoroughly enjoyed it. It was too funny because he doesn't exactly understand the concept behind headphones and that he doesn't have to hear himself for us to hear him. He was singing along with the songs at the top of his lungs and laughing. He kept looking at us like we should be laughing and singing too. Thankfully the people around us on the plane thought it was cute too.

This is where we waited for the shuttle to the Disney parks everyday.

Waiting for the ferry to Magic Kingdom, we were already having to make sure we stayed hydrated with their $2.50 bottles of water.

The fam at the entrance to Magic Kingdom

Out of order picture of Garth Lee sleeping the whole flight from Houston to Orlando.

Papa and Garth Lee at Magic Kingdom

Our first show and sighting of Mickey Mouse, there was a whole "wishes come true" theme and Garth Lee kept asking me "Mommy, do wishes really come true", it was very cute!

The Thomas' on the obligatory "It's a Small World" ride

Playing at the Winnie the Pooh playground

Walt Disney and Mickey

This was pretty much the theme of the whole trip-get wet anytime and anyway you possibly can. There were little surprise water springs coming from the ground at the Winnie the Pooh playground.

When shooting fireworks shots, unless you have a really quick shutter, or are a lot better at photography than I am, you just have to get lucky to get a good shot, and I so got lucky here.

And here

Pirate goofy ears...so cool

Mickey ears...with shade

The outside of the resort check-in.

Hollywood Studios Fantasia hat

Our Mickey pic with the family...Garth Lee was so proud

Russell and Dog from "Up". We haven't seen it yet, but Garth Lee was excited all the same to get pictures with them and to get their autographs.

The Incredibles

Frozone

Passing the time waiting in line for something

Our little jedi

Lighting McQueen and Mater

Quincy from Little Einsteins

Oh look...another fountain, this time Miss Piggy

The luau with cousins Reese and Rachel

The kids learning to hula, he warmed up to it I promise.

I just thought this was a neato ornament

more hula

oh yea, he is the hula king by this point

K, so this is so not a girl, and it was kind of hard to concentrate on the luau with it dancing

These dancers were also distracting ;)

Fire Dancer

Animal Kingdom Safari

Feeding the dolphins at SeaWorld. This was pretty amazing to me, and probably my favorite part.

Goofy and Pluto at Animal Kingdom

Mommy and Garth Lee at the Shamu show "Believe"

MiMi and Little G

Garth Lee and the whale trainer

A real shark swimming over us at SeaWorld

The little seal was only one day old

Our last day at Bonnet Creek, one of the activities was face painting. The lady that did it was amazing, she did this in less than a minute and he was very concerned that it stay on and kept asking every 5 minutes if it was all still on his face.

Daytona Beach. I thought he may be afraid of the water, but he absolutely loved it and ran out into it until I yelled at him to come back until Daddy went out with him.

A pretty cute grandpa, Garth and Garth Lee picture.

Our first sunset at Daytona

My cousin Jeni and her husband Bryan

Building sand castles

My boys

The view from our room...seriously

Coming home, Garth Lee enjoyed a little light reading

My little beach comber

We had a blast! And if you got all the way to the end of this post, congratulations.